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How To Optimize Your Brain-Body Function & Health
Key Takeaways
Interoception is the ability to sense what’s going on in our bodies and is as important to our well-being as sleep
The Vagus nerve is the communication system relaying information from the brain to body and body to brain
If you want to be calmer: emphasize exhale using physiologic sigh – 2 inhales followed by long exhale
If you want to be more alert: inhale 2 seconds then exhale 1 second which will induce an alert but calm state – repeat 25-30 rounds
Tips to curb sugar cravings: increase omega-3s, amino acids, and in more serious cases – try 1-3 tsp glutamine per day
For improved health, add 2-4 servings of fermented foods per day
Fermented foods have been shown to increase the diversity of gut microbiota more than fiber (which actually reduced diversity and increased inflammation in some cases)
Interoception & Vagus Nerve
Interoception (AKA sense of self): ability to sense what’s going on in our bodies
Crafting interoception is critical to set the stage for optimal performance and health
Interoception is often called the sixth sense and is as important as sleep
Vagus nerve: two-way system in our body that connects all of our organs to our brain, and our brain to all of our organs – if we can understand leveraging that system, we can use it to our advantage
The Vagus nerve is a communication system, relaying brain to body and body to brain
Nerves leave the brain and brain stem and send information to control bodily organs
Two fundamental features are needed to make the brain and body interact properly:
(1) Mechanical sensing relays information such as pressure and touch
(2) Chemical sensing relays information such as acidity, pathogen detection
For every organ in the body, both mechanical and chemical information is registered and sends signals to the brain for adjustment
We are sensing mechanical and chemical information about every organ in the body (except the brain which is a command center but has no sensation)
Organs have to tell the brain what’s going on – if you can regulate the mechanical and chemical environment of your body, the brain functions better
Adjusting Mechanics Of Breathing To Control Mood
Lungs and diaphragm play a large role in breathing
The diaphragm is unique because it is composed of skeletal muscle so you can take control of your diaphragm and determine how you breathe
Breathing controls our heart rate by changing the way our brain thinks
Inhale: lungs expand, and the diaphragm moves down, and the heart gets bigger
When inhaling vigorously, the heart speeds up
Exhale: lungs deflate, te diaphragm moves up, and the heart gets smaller because it has less space
When exhaling, the heart gets physically bigger and flows at a slower rate
Breathing is a great example of interoception: if you exhale longer than inhale, you will slow down the heart rate
If you want to be calmer, emphasize exhales through physiological sigh: 2 inhales followed by a long exhale
If you want to be more alert, inhale longer than exhale
Box breathing: equal inhale and exhale duration
When you exhale all your air then hold your breath, you won’t be able to hold your breath long
When you inhale before holding your breath, you will be able to maintain longer
Understanding Chemical Environment Of Breathing
When carbon dioxide levels get to a certain level, neurons will cause you to breathe and inhale to bring in oxygen
You don’t want carbon dioxide levels to go too high or the brain will elicit a panic response
When you exhale, you offload carbon dioxide
Self-experiment to hold breath longer & achieve an alert but calm state: sit or lay down and breathe in deep (around 2 seconds) and exhale passively (around 1 second) – if you repeat 25-30 times, you will change the chemistry of your brain
In the first few reps, adrenaline starts to rush, and you feel alert
On the last breath, dump all air and hold breath for about 15-30 seconds
You will be able to hold your breath for a long time because you offloaded so much carbon dioxide
You will feel very alert but very calm
Once you understand the components of breathing, you can create breathwork practice that works best for you to achieve the desired outcome
The Gut, Digestion, & Modulating Hunger Towards Healthy Foods
The digestive system communicates to the brain about mechanical and chemical status to get information from the brain about how to respond
As you expand your gut and become full, a signal is sent by neurons and shut down the drive, and leave you literally unable to put more in your mouth and remove the desire
You can get better at registering a sense of fullness by paying attention and focusing on how much mechano-sensation (fullness and pressure) is in the gut, you can leverage (this can come in handy for fasting)
The details are debatable but it’s clear that having a period of fasting is helpful because it stimulates autophagy
Two main neurons in healthy eating: (1) one set of neurons that sense nutrients, telling the brain what’s in the gut; (2) another set of neurons that sense fatty acids (omega-3s), amino acids, sugar (sugar as a chemical, not sweet food)
These neurons don’t know the taste, they only know nutrient profile
If you have sugar cravings, replacing those foods with items that have high omega-3 or amino acid profiles can curb cravings
If you have sugar cravings, take 1 tsp of glutamine or mix with full-fat cream if the craving is extreme
How Microbiome Contributes To Auto-Immune Disease
Your gut needs to be more acidic than other organs of the body to function properly because bacteria thrive in alkaline conditions
Gastric juices are powerful modulators of brain health
“One of the best things you can do to have a healthy brain, well-functioning brain, and a healthy and well-functioning body is to maintain proper gut chemistry.” – Dr. Andrew Huberman
By breathing through your nose most of the time, you will increase the microbiome in the nose
There are cytokines in the body that promote inflammation and reduce inflammation
The best way to adjust the microbiome is to ingest certain foods
In a recent study, a high fiber diet reduced diversity of gut microbiome diversity while 1-2 servings of ferments foods increased gut microbiome diversity:
Individuals given a high fiber diet experienced a reduced diversity of the gut microbiome
Individuals given a few servings of fermented food each day had high levels of anti-inflammatory biomarkers and improvements in gut microbiome diversity
We should all be ingesting fermented foods daily: starting with 2 servings per day, and maybe ramping up to 4 servings of fermented foods per day may offer significant benefit to gut microbiome diversity
Fermented foods far out-performed high fiber foods
A high fiber diet increases microbiota but limits diversity; adding fermented food to the diet increases microbiota diversity
Ingesting a high carbohydrate and high fiber diet might make people better at digesting carbohydrates